This collection of R. E. Bradbury's papers, originally published in 1973 includes edited sections of his (then hitherto) unpublished thesis on the Benin village in Western Nigeria. The book is arranged in 3 parts: historical and political studies of the kingdom of Benin; Benin village organization and religion and art. An introduction by Peter Morton-Williams traces bradbury's development as an interpreter of the culture, society and art of Benin, beginning with his first studies in the filed and culminating in the important anthropological and historical essays.